Collegian (2014) 21, 71—78

Available online at www.sciencedirect.com

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/coll

Physical and psychosocial wellbeing of

nurses in a regional Queensland hospital
Brenda Happell a,b,c,∗, Cadeyrn J. Gaskin a,b,c,
Kerry Reid-Searl a,c,1, Trudy Dwyer a,c,2

a
Institute for Health and Social Science Research, Central Queensland University, Bruce Hwy,
Rockhampton, Queensland 4702, Australia
b
Centre for Mental Health Nursing Innovation, Central Queensland University, Bruce Hwy, Rockhampton,
Queensland 4702, Australia
c
School of Nursing and Midwifery, Central Queensland University, Bruce Hwy, Rockhampton, Queensland
4702, Australia

Received 26 November 2012; received in revised form 11 February 2013; accepted 28 February 2013

KEYWORDS Summary Occupational stress is common among nurses. Two factors that may influence stress
levels are diet and physical activity. The purpose of this study was to investigate the diets and
Burnout;
physical activity levels of nurses and to quantify the relationships between these behaviours
Diet;
and anxiety, depressed mood, stress, and burnout. Nurses (N = 52) from one regional hospital
Nurses;
completed a survey assessing physical activity, nutrition, and psychological functioning. Almost
Physical activity;
two-thirds (65%) of participants had met recommended levels of both moderate and vigorous
Stress
physical activity in the week prior. Participants met recommended levels for fruit, but not veg-
etable, consumption. Burnout and stress levels were close to norms for physicians and nurses.
Scores for depressed mood, anxiety, and stress symptoms were within one standard devia-
tion of norms for the Australian adult population. Several moderately sized correlations were
found between the psychological constructs measured and both physical activity and nutrition.
Although most of the participants were physically active and seemed to be consuming nutritious
diets, some nurses may need encouragement to adopt similarly healthy behaviours.
© 2013 Australian College of Nursing Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

∗ Corresponding author at: Institute for Health and Social Science Research, Central Queensland University, Bruce Hwy, Rockhampton,

Queensland 4702, Australia. Tel.: +61 7 49232164; fax: +61 7 49306402.

E-mail addresses: b.happell@cqu.edu.au (B. Happell), drcade@gmail.com (C.J. Gaskin), k.reid-searl@cqu.edu.au (K. Reid-Searl),
t.dwyer@cqu.edu.au (T. Dwyer).
1 Tel.: +61 7 49309741; fax: +61 7 49309871.
2 Tel.: +61 7 49306538; fax: +61 7 49309871.

1322-7696/$ — see front matter © 2013 Australian College of Nursing Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.colegn.2013.02.005
72
Introduction
High levels of occupational stress and burnout within the
nursing profession is a global problem (Beck, 2011; Gonge
& Buus, 2011; Hamdan-Mansour, Al-Gamal, Puskar, Yacoub,
& Marini, 2011; Happell, Hoey, & Gaskin, 2012; Hayes
& Bonner, 2010; Lim, Bogossian, & Ahern, 2010; Ribeiro,
Martins, Marziale, & Robazzi, 2012; Ward, 2011). In the
general population, the presence of occupational stress
approximately doubles the risk of anxiety (Melchior et al.,
2007) and depression (Melchior et al., 2007; Robertson
Blackmore et al., 2007). Indeed, nurses commonly experi-
ence higher rates of depression than the general population
(Letvak, Ruhm, & McCoy, 2012; Lin, Probst, & Hsu,
2010; Welsh, 2009) and moderate anxiety levels (Marneras
et al., 2010; Stathopoulou, Karanikola, Panagiotopoulou, &
Papathanassoglou, 2011). To reduce occupational stress, pri-
mary and secondary prevention strategies are preferable,
because they are concentrated on removing and reducing
stressors (Quick, Quick, & Hurrell, 1997). Two secondary
strategies that nurses may be able to employ to reduce stress
are physical activity and healthy eating.
Physical activity can make a substantial contribution to
the prevention and management of a broad range of phys-
ical and mental health conditions (Penedo & Dahn, 2005;
Warburton, Nicol, & Bredin, 2006). With respect to men-
tal health, physical activity can prevent and reduce anxiety
(Ströhle, 2009; Wipfli, Rethorst, & Landers, 2008), depres-
sion (Eriksson & Gard, 2011; Ströhle, 2009; Teychenne,
Ball, & Salmon, 2008), stress (Edenfield & Blumenthal,
2011; Hamer, Taylor, & Steptoe, 2006). In regard to nurses,
initial evidence suggests that those who perform leisure-
time physical activity experience higher levels of well-being
(Henwood, Tuckett, & Turner, 2012). These benefits of physi-
cal activity strongly suggest that performing physical activity
may assist nurses to manage their stress levels at work.
Despite the benefits of physical activity, many people
lead sedentary lives (World Health Organization, 2009).
Physical inactivity has reached pandemic levels, and is the
fourth leading cause of death around the world (Kohl et al.,
2012). Recent research conducted in the UK has shown that
nurses are as physically inactive as the general population
(Hawker, 2012), with over half not meeting recommended
daily physical activity levels (Hawker, 2012; Malik, Blake,
& Batt, 2011). Likewise, Canadian researchers found that
47% of nurses undertook no regular physical activity (Vieira,
Kumar, & Narayan, 2008). These finding suggest that there
are clear opportunities to improve the health of nurses
through physical activity.
Consuming healthy diets also have substantial effects
on physical and mental health (Joint World Health
Organisation/Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations Expert Consultation, 2003; Roberts &
Barnard, 2005; Willett, 1994). With respect to mental
health, specific diets and nutritional supplements have been
associated with improved mood (e.g., lower levels of anx-
iety and depression), as well as having neuro-protective
effects (Casper, 2011; Walsh, 2011). Many people consume
poor diets, however, characterised by low intake of nutrient
dense, high fibre, low fat foods (e.g., fruits and vegetables)
and high intake of refined carbohydrates and fatty foods
(Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2012; Mokdad
B. Happell et al.
et al., 2001). Research suggests that nurses also consume
nutritionally suboptimal diets (e.g., Blake, Malik, Mo, &
Pisano, 2011; Malik et al., 2011). In one study, for exam-
ple, only 40% of registered nurses consumed five servings
of fruit and vegetables every day, and a similar percentage
ate foods high in fat and sugar once per day (31%) or two
to three times a day (6%; Malik et al., 2011). The potential
relationships between nurses’ diets and their mental health
have yet to be determined.
Although there is a multitude of factors that potentially
contribute to the stress levels that nurses experience, the
present study was focused on two approaches to improving
mental health that may be under the control of individ-
uals: diet and physical activity. Specifically, the purpose of
this study was to investigate the diets and physical activity
levels of nurses and to quantify the relationships between
these behaviours and anxiety, depressed mood, stress, and
burnout.
Method
Participants
The participants were 52 nurses from one regional hospital.
The nurses had an average age of 41 years (SD = 12) and most
(90%) were female. The participants worked across the hos-
pital, with most nursing in renal (n = 16), surgical (n = 13),
and emergency areas (n = 9). Almost half the participants
(46%) had over 10 years working experience as nurses. Two
thirds of participants (67%) had been working in the same
areas within the hospital for 2 years or more.
Measures
Physical activity
The Active Australia Survey (Australian Institute of Health
and Welfare, 2003) was used to measure physical activity.
The development of the instrument was a government initia-
tive to enable the collection of uniform, standardised data
on the physical activity of Australian adults. This instrument
has sound reliability and acceptable validity (Brown et al.,
2002).
Nutrition
Items on nutrition were developed from the Dietary Guide-
lines for Australian Adults (National Health and Medical
Research Council, 2003). The survey had questions about
the consumption of fruit, fruit juice, vegetables, potatoes,
potato-based products (e.g., chips, wedges, fried potatoes,
salad and other mixtures of raw vegetables, cooked vegeta-
bles, milk, meat, meat products, bread, and cooked cereals.
The survey also had questions about the addition of salt to
food.
Burnout
The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI; Maslach, Jackson, &
Leiter, 1996) was used to measure burnout in nurses. The
MBI has 22 items that assess three aspects of work-related
burnout: emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation, and per-
sonal accomplishment. Participants report how frequently
Nurses’ physical and psychosocial wellbeing
each item relates to them using a 7-point Likert scale
anchored with never and every day. The MBI has undergone
extensive psychometric testing in various populations,
with the findings of meta-analytic studies attesting to
its validity (Worley, Vassar, Wheeler, & Barnes, 2008) and
reliability (Aguayo, Vargas, de la Fuente, & Lozano, 2011).
The sound psychometric properties of the MBI have also
been confirmed in studies with nurses as participants (e.g.,
Kanste, Miettunen, & Kyngäs, 2006; Poghosyan, Aiken, &
Sloane, 2009). Group norms for physicians and nurses for
the emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation, and personal
accomplishment subscales are 22.19, 7.12, and 36.53,
respectively (Maslach et al., 1996).
Depression, anxiety, and stress
The short form of the depression, anxiety, and stress scales
(DASS-21; Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995) was used to mea-
sure these constructs. The DASS-21 has 7 items in each of
three subscales: depression, anxiety, and stress. Participants
respond to each item on a 4-point Likert scale anchored with
did not apply to me at all and applied to me very much,
or most of the time. The DASS-21 has undergone extensive
psychometric testing, with evidence supporting the valid-
ity and reliability of this test (e.g., Antony, Bieling, Cox,
Enns, & Swinson, 1998; Crawford, Cayley, Lovibond, Wilson,
& Hartley, 2011; Henry & Crawford, 2005). Although Lovi-
bond and Lovibond recommend doubling the scores obtained
through using the DASS-21 to make them comparable to
those obtained with the DASS-42, only raw scores were cal-
culated for the present study to enable comparisons to be
made with norms from the Australian general adult popu-
lation (Crawford et al., 2011). Scores on each subscale can
range between 0 (does not occur at all) and 21 (occurs most
of the time).
Nursing stress
The nursing stress scale (NSS; Gray-Toft & Anderson, 1981)
was used to measure the frequency with which nurses
experienced potentially stressful situations in hospital envi-
ronments. The NSS has 34 items and seven subscales,
each representing a grouping of similar potentially stress-
ful experiences: death and dying, conflict with physicians,
inadequate preparation, lack of support, conflict with other
nurses, work load, and uncertainty concerning treatment.
Participants respond to each item on a 4-point Likert scale
anchored with never and very frequently. The factor anal-
ysis performed in the initial study provides partial support
for the construct validity of the NSS (Gray-Toft & Anderson,
1981). Further support for the validity of the NSS comes from
its positive relationships with anxiety (both trait and state),
turnover, and nursing roles. The NSS has adequate reliability,
with the alpha values for the seven subscales ranging from
.65 to .80.
Procedure
Following ethical approval, nurses from one public hospital
in regional Queensland, Australia, were recruited to partic-
ipate in the study. All nursing staff were invited to attend
general information sessions at the hospital, during which
they were informed of the purpose and methods of the
73
study. After these presentations, the survey was distributed
to nursing staff who showed interest in being involved with
the research. Additional surveys were also given to those
nurses who volunteered to distribute them to nurses who did
not attend the sessions. Completed surveys were returned to
boxes in nursing stations or directly to the researchers using
postage-paid envelopes. Participants’ survey responses were
inputted into an electronic database and used as the data
for the analysis.
Data analysis
Physical activity data tends to be highly skewed, with
many people reporting engaging in minimal physical activity
(AIHW, 2003). Therefore, nonparametric descriptive statis-
tics were used in reporting the data. Sedentary behaviour
was defined as participation in no physical activity. Suffi-
cient physical activity was defined as having undertaken at
least 150 min of moderate intensity physical activity (30 min
per day on most, if not all, days per week) and at least
60 min of vigorous physical activity (20 min per day on 3—4
days per week; Egger, Donovan, Swinburn, Giles-Corti, &
Bull, 1999). Descriptive statistics (frequencies, percentages,
means, standard deviations) were used to report the findings
from the nutrition and psychological measures.
Correlations were undertaken to determine the strength
of the relationships between specific behaviours (physical
activity and nutrition) and anxiety, depressed mood, stress,
and burnout. Because the physical activity data (and some
of the nutrition data) was skewed, non-parametric tests,
in the form of Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients
(rs ), were undertaken. Consistent with statistical advice
for the field of mental health nursing (Gaskin & Happell,
2013), effect sizes are reported and adjustments to reduce
Type I error were made. According to Cohen (1988) guide-
lines, small, medium, and large effects for rs are .1,
.3, and .5, respectively. To control the experiment-wise
error rate, the sharper Bonferroni procedure for multiple
tests of significance, as described in Hochberg (1988), was
used. Applying this procedure, ˛ was set at .0002 for this
study.
Findings
Physical activity
Most of the physical activity data were skewed, with sub-
stantial numbers of participants reporting not engaging in
various types of activity. Non-parametric descriptive statis-
tics are for this data are presented in Table 1. Almost
two-thirds (65%) of participants had undertaken sufficient
amounts of both moderate and vigorous physical activity
in the week prior (data not shown). A further 29% of par-
ticipants were insufficiently physically active and 6% were
sedentary.
Nutrition
Most participants reporting consuming two serves or less of
fruit per day (73%) and between two and four serves of
74 B. Happell et al.

Table 1 Physical activity behaviours of the whole sample.

Behaviour Times last week Minutes per week

Median IQR Median IQR

Walking 4 2—7 175 65—268

Moderate activity 5 3—9 180 90—330
Vigorous gardening 1 0—2 70 0—120
Vigorous activity 3 1—4 120 60—240
Total activity 8 4—12 360 180—480
Notes: Minutes per day = minutes per week divided by times last week. IQR = inter-quartile range. Walking is a subcomponent of moderate
activity.

Table 2 Nurses’ daily fruit and vegetable consumption.

Fruit Vegetables

n % n %

1 serve or less 19 37 6 12
2 serves 19 37 16 31
3 serves 10 19 12 23
4 serves 3 6 8 15
5 serves or more 0 0 8 15

vegetables each day (69%; see Table 2). The frequencies
with which participants consumed various foods are shown
in Table 3. Based on the medians of responses, participants
consumed fruit juices less that once per week, fruit six times
per week, chips (or equivalent foods) once per week, pota-
toes twice per week, salad three times per week, cooked
vegetables four times per week, red meat three times per
week, meat products once per week, bread four times per
week, and other cooked cereals twice per week.
With respect to milk, most participants consumed
low/reduced fat or skim milk (71%), and a further 15% used
whole or full cream milk. Most participants consumed less
than 150 ml (54%) or between 150 and 300 ml (29%) per day.
There were broad ranges of responses to questions about
whether participants added salt before or during cooking
(never, 37%; rarely, 17%; sometimes, 23%; usually, 14%;
always, 10%) or after cooking (never, 39%; rarely, 15%; some-
times, 27%; usually, 14%; always, 4%).

Table 3 Nurses’ weekly consumption of various foods.

Food Frequency of consumption per week

<1 1 or 2 3 or 4 5 or 6 ≥7

n % n % n % n % n %

Fruit juices 29 56 6 12 10 19 3 6 3 6
Fruita 1 2 5 10 7 13 17 33 21 40
Chipsb 22 42 24 46 2 4 3 6 0 0
Potatoesc 9 17 23 44 13 25 5 10 1 2
Salad 3 6 18 35 16 31 7 13 7 13
Cooked vegetablesd 2 4 4 8 21 40 12 23 12 23
Red meat 3 6 14 27 21 40 14 27 0 0
Meat productse 22 42 23 44 5 10 2 4 0 0
Bread 4 8 12 23 11 21 18 35 7 13
Other cooked cerealsf 4 8 23 44 12 23 9 17 4 8
a Not including fruit juice.
b Including French fries, wedges, fried potatoes, or crisps.
c Not including chips, French fries, wedges, fried potatoes, or crisps.
d Not including potatoes and salad.
e Sausages, frankfurter, Belgium, Devon, salami, meat pies, bacon or ham.
f Including pasta, rice, noodles, but not including cooked breakfast cereals.
Nurses’ physical and psychosocial wellbeing
Burnout
The means and standard deviations for the three MBI sub-
scales are: emotional exhaustion (M = 26.96, SD = 12.88),
depersonalisation (M = 7.83, SD = 7.90), and personal accom-
plishment (M = 34.27, SD = 8.74).
Depression, anxiety, and stress
Individual scores on the depression subscale ranged between
0 and 16, with a mean of 4.27 (SD = 4.12) and a median of
3. Scores on the anxiety subscale ranged between 0 and 19,
with a mean of 3.31 (SD = 3.60) and a median of 3. Scores on
the stress subscale ranged between 0 and 21, with a mean
of 6.29 (SD = 4.15) and a median of 6.
Nursing stress
The means and standard deviations of the seven NSS sub-
scales are: death and dying (M = 9.04, SD = 3.21), conflict
with physicians (M = 5.47, SD = 2.51), inadequate preparation
(M = 3.59, SD = 1.55), lack of support (M = 2.90, SD = 1.78),
conflict with other nurses (M = 4.33, SD = 2.28), workload
(M = 9.47, SD = 3.47), and uncertainty concerning -treatment
(M = 5.48, SD = 2.25).
Relationships between physical activity and
nutrition and burnout, depression, anxiety, and
stress
Most correlations between these variables were small in
magnitude and none were statistically significant (see
Table 4). There were, however, several largish correlations
between total activity and inadequate preparation (rs = .49,
p = .0004), vigorous physical activity and inadequate prepa-
ration (rs = .42, p = .002).
Discussion
Current physical activity guidelines for Australians promote
(a) thinking of movement as an opportunity for improving
health, (b) being active every day in many ways, (c) putting
together 30 min of moderate-intensity exercise on most, but
preferably all, days of the week, and (d) engaging in 20 min
or more vigorous exercise on 3—4 days per week (Egger
et al., 1999). Almost two-thirds (65%) of the participants in
the present study reported being sufficiently active to meet
these guidelines, with only 6% being sedentary. The partici-
pants in the present study appeared to be more active than
their UK (Hawker, 2012) and Canadian (Vieira et al., 2008)
nursing colleagues, and the general Australian population
(Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2012). Although the nurses
in at the regional hospital where the present study was con-
ducted may have been particularly active, it may also be
possible that less active nurses chose not to be involved in
this project.
As part of a balanced diet, nutrition guidelines for Aus-
tralian adults suggest women consume four to nine serves of
cereals; five serves of vegetables and legumes; two serves
of fruit; two serves of milk, yoghurt and cheese; one serve
75
of lean meat, fish, poultry, nuts, and legumes; and up to
two serves of extra foods (National Health and Medical
Research Council, 2003). Although the present research was
not designed to enable a detailed nutritional analysis of
nurses’ diets, several observations can be made. First, par-
ticipants tended to consume enough fruit, but insufficient
vegetables in their diets. Second, participants consumed
fruit much more frequently than fruit juices — the former
typically being of greater nutritional value than the latter.
With respect to their psychological functioning, the
participants in this study reported, on average, higher
frequencies of depressive, anxiety, and stress symptoms
than are generally found in the Australian adult popula-
tion (Crawford et al., 2011). Even though these scores were
higher, however, the means obtained in the present study
were within one standardisation of these norms. The stress
levels of participants in the present study were equivalent
to those of other Australian nurses (Chang et al., 2006).
Scores on the burnout inventory were close to the norms
for physicians and nurses (Maslach et al., 1996).
The connection between physical activity and several
psychological constructs was clear in the present study,
with several moderately sized correlations being found.
The strongest correlations found in the present study were
between stress due to inadequate preparation and both vig-
orous and total physical activity. Although it is concerning
that higher levels of physical activity were associated with
higher amounts of stress, it could be that other variables
may be influencing this relationship. Perhaps inexperienced
nurses were also younger people and more physically active
than older nurses. Collectively, however, the strength of the
findings on the relationships between physical activity and
psychological functioning add further weight to messages
promoting physical activity among nurses, in particular, and
the wider population, in general.
The relationships between nutrition and the psychologi-
cal measures were typically small in magnitude. Their diets
did not seem to affect their burnout, anxiety, depression or
stress levels markedly. Although these findings are somewhat
surprising, it could be that most nurses had fairly healthy
diets that met their nutritional requirements.
Although tempting to conceive physical inactivity as an
individual problem, such a narrow focus (with its reliance on
the behavioural sciences for solutions) ignores the significant
structural changes in society which has contributed to high
levels of inactivity (Kohl et al., 2012). Although attending to
behaviour and biology (individual factors) is clearly worth-
while, they need to be considered within a broader public
health framework. The determinants and correlates of phys-
ical activity are varied and complex, and include individual
factors (e.g., specific genes, self-efficacy, health status),
urban planning, transportation systems, and access to parks
and trails (Bauman et al., 2012). The implications of taking a
public health approach to physical activity promotion is that
some of the attention is turned away from individuals to,
for example, governments, councils, organisations, schools,
media, healthcare providers, and other stakeholders (Kohl
et al., 2012).
With respect to nurses, some researchers have rec-
ommended the introduction of worksite physical activity
programs, which may include access to a gymnasium and
to undertake a physical activity program during paid shift
 76
Table 4 Relationships between physical activity and nutrition and burnout, depression, anxiety, and stress.
Burnout Depression, anxiety, and stress Nursing stress

Emotional Deperso- Personal Depression Anxiety Stress Death Conflict with Inadequate Lack of Conflict with Workload Uncertainty
exhaustion nalisation accomplish- and physicians preparation support other nurses concerning
ment dying treatment
Physical activity
Walking −.11 −.13 −.09 −.26 −.12 −.24 .09 −.03 .23 −.21 .13 −.04 −.06
Moderate activity −.14 −.12 −.08 −.32 −.05 −.27 .12 −.04 .28 −.18 .09 −.05 .01
Vigorous gardening .14 .18 −.07 .09 .02 .22 .26 .07 .23 .15 −.09 .37 .19
Vigorous activity .33 .33 −.31 .06 .16 .14 .25 .18 .42 .15 .20 .29 .37
Total activity .11 .11 −.20 −.20 −.04 −.11 .30 .14 .49 −.02 .21 .18 .22
Nutrition
Fruit juices .13 .09 .06 .14 .20 .15 .28 .02 .35 .14 −.01 .28 .13
Fruita .35 .13 −.03 .15 −.06 −.10 .18 .14 .23 .26 .13 .31 .27
Chipsb −.06 −.04 .15 .08 .10 .03 −.10 −.02 −.07 −.10 .16 −.22 −.04
Potatoesc −.15 −.18 .07 −.08 −.01 −.09 −.18 −.40 −.32 −.36 −.21 −.31 −.23
Salad .10 .31 −.16 .11 .07 .14 .15 .26 .07 .05 .14 .18 .27
Cooked .08 .08 −.02 −.12 −.17 −.06 .10 −.04 .17 .05 −.22 −.02 −.08
vegetablesd
Red meat .20 .05 −.08 .02 .09 .01 .20 .04 .19 .02 −.06 .01 .00
Meat productse −.25 −.16 .00 −.22 −.05 .15 −.13 −.30 −.16 −.25 −.24 −.34 −.14
Bread −.07 −.02 −.12 −.08 .06 −.11 −.02 −.13 −.08 −.34 −.30 −.11 −.05
Other cooked −.11 −.11 .00 −.10 .15 −.07 .22 .00 .01 −.14 −.10 .11 .02
cerealsf
Note: No correlations were statistically significant at the ˛ = .0002 level.
a Not including fruit juice.
b Including French fries, wedges, fried potatoes, or crisps.
c Not including chips, French fries, wedges, fried potatoes, or crisps.
d Not including potatoes and salad.
e Sausages, frankfurter, Belgium, Devon, salami, meat pies, bacon or ham.
f Including pasta, rice, noodles, but not including cooked breakfast cereals.

B. Happell et al.
Nurses’ physical and psychosocial wellbeing
time (Henwood et al., 2012). Such an initiative would involve
a radical departure from the status quo and, to ensure
its implementation and success, require the cooperation of
healthcare organisation, government, and union officials, as
well as nurses themselves.
Two limitations of this study are the sample size and
the composition of the sample. With so many inferential
statistics undertaken, the sample size would only have been
sufficient for reasonably large effect sizes to have been
statistically significant. The descriptive statistics on the
physical activity data, in particular suggest that this sam-
ple engaged in healthier behaviours than would be expected
of nurses and people from the general population. It may be
that, when informed about the research or upon reading the
questions in the survey, some people who typically under-
took low levels of physical activity opted not to participate
in the study. A second alternative was sampling bias, in that
the majority of the nurses were from the one unit. It may
be plausible that this cohort is actively involved in primary
health education. If this is the case, it has skewed the study’s
findings.
The profile of nurses obtained through this study was gen-
erally positive. Over half were engaged in sufficient levels of
physical activity and, except for eating too few vegetables,
the nurses seemed to be have healthy diets. Their psycholog-
ical health was comparable to norms for the Australian adult
population and for their profession. Encouragement may still
be needed, however for some participants to become phys-
ically active and to consume nutritious foods.
Acknowledgements
The authors extend their thanks to the Queensland Nurs-
ing Council for providing the funding for this research.
Thanks to the nurse participants who gave so freely of their
time. Thanks to those who assisted with the conduct of this
research, particularly Mina Flanders from the renal unit.
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